You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Vested Interest in K-9s, Inc. They’ve got a simple mission — to provide bulletproof and stabproof vests for law enforcement dogs throughout the U.S. — and the most measurable results per donation you could ask for.

As stated on the organization’s home page, every $950 pays for one dog vest (which, without this organization, would not normally be provided to these animals).

Also prominently displayed on the home page is a tally of how many vests it has already provided — 437 since 2009.

It’s no wonder, then, that the organization managed to attract the attention of a nine-year-old girl, who decided to ask her friends and family to donate to the group instead of giving her regular presents for her tenth birthday. The story made it on to MSN, with 746 Facebook shares when last I checked.

But I doubt an MSN reporter just happened to be roving the area when this gift came in. The organization no doubt knew a good story when it saw one, and passed it on to the media. Well done!

By the way, outreach via the media (both traditional and social media) can be such an important way for nonprofits to gain visibility and credibility that a whole chapter of my book, Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits (newly out in its fourth edition) is devoted to it.

Among Ilona’s most memorable experiences were passing out HIV+ literature in Guatemala, researching U.N programs as a legal intern for Amnesty International in London, and representing (pro bono) disabled, low-income people seeking Social Security benefits in Washington, DC.